HARDLY WORKING, {Mature} Celebreality TV

[Iumi]

Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na!...

Taylor raised an eyebrow at the... host. Another crazy lunatic to deal with. Great. A crazy lunatic that seemed to bother Sabryna Spence. Hell. YES. Taylor didn't consider herself too close to any part of the trio, but she had to admit, this kind of stuff was funny.

"Oh, Fox Lythell..." She paused, shaking her head. "I think that guy could be a real... interesting person to have hosting this show. I mean, did you see Sabryna's face when he got near her?" The cameraman's stifled laugh can be heard offscreen.

...Na Na Na!

Taylor's mouth dropped, only to be quickly covered by her hand. These TV people were out of their frickin' minds. Taylor wasn't opposed to cleaning, and she hadn't gotten dressed up, which meant she had a slight advantage over Sabryna and Mimi, atleast. She cleaned her own house every once in a while, and Taylor assumed that atleast those two would have maids or cleaning people or whatever to do that.

"I really can't believe that they did this. I mean, that's got to be violating every health code or ordinance out there." She shivered, as if to emphasize her point. "But... It'll be easier for some of us. I don't know how any of the others are going to cope." Laughing again.

...Hey Jude...!

Seeing Zac's lead, Taylor sheepishly followed, taking a bag of her own and filling with anything in arm's reach, which was... a lot. Considering the sheer size of the mess inside, shew and Zac had barely made a dent. The smell however... Taylor had to keep from choking on the noxious fumes by simply not inhaling or exhaling through her nose. Man, this would suck if they didn't get done in time. Even though she wasn't a clean freak, she was uneasy with sleeping on the floor amidst all the trash. Well, if she could atleast clear a space large enough for herself on the floor, she wouldn't mind as much.

"Well, I'd better get a head start if I want to get the advantage in the first challenge." A smile.

[ooc] Iumi's Christmas gift to you all. ;D A REPLY~![/ooc]

[Stace]

So a whole bunch of things seemed to happen at once. Elias didn't have much time to react to the bus nearly flattening the crew member before the host stepped off the bus and made his grand entrance. What a cocky bastard! That was Elias' judgment of the man from the moment he saw the guy. The feeling only intensified as the host revealed the first task.

"Oh shit," he said to the camera. "I'm not sure if anyone realizes this, but it's not possible to clean up this mess without replacing the carpets and, thanks to BumFuck Lythell, a window or two. They at least could have given us a job that is remotely possible." He sighed and dramatically snaps the ugly, yellow, rubber gloves on his hands. "I have to get back to cleaning now."

Well, fuck. How the hell do you start with that? And how the Hell do they decide who wins these challenges anyway? Elias was pretty sure that the host was supposed to come in and explain the entire game. You know, so that the viewers know what the Hell is going on? At least the players in the game should have had some sort of refresher.

Elias groaned. Well, he was here to work, and he was determined to win, so it was time to get to it.

"My strategy? Throw away as much stuff as we can manage to lose and salvage whatever we can keep. It will be a whole lot easier to carry things to the dumpster than to spend the entire day trying to scrub the rotten food off of things. I seriously might even tear up some pieces of this carpet, too."


Elias rolled up his sleeves, sending a glare in Fox Lythell's direction as he decided to make the plunge into the mess and get things cleared out. He intended to sleep on the cleanest mattress left behind.

[Spotty]

Now, the party don't start 'til I walk in.

Don't stop, make it pop.
DJ, blow my speakers up.
Tonight, I'mma fight,
'Til we see the sunlight.---

Her manicure was ruined.
Her designer heels were unrecognizable.
Her Gucci dress now sported an unremovable stain.
And she'd been forced to pull her hair back into a ponytail.

The tongue lashing that Sabryna Lane Spence delivered to the producers was ignored -- and filmed, to be edited into commercials and the reunion special -- and Fox Lythell was treated to only the most abhorrent glares her beautiful face could produce. Her agent wouldn't bargain with her, she'd already made the commitment to the show. And, while she was furious, she would never make such a misstep. Canceling a contract never left one's record. Being unmarketable was not going to be added to the above list.

Respite came to the poor celebrities on the third day. When the mansion was cleaned to the greatest extent, the work completely mostly by the eager, a professional cleaning service visited the mansion. Windows and carpet replaced, new furniture produced, refridgerator and shelves restocked, -- and liquor cabinet too -- the mansion finally appeared as it should. An obscenely overpriced party pad.

The "dramatic results" of the celebrities' success of cleaning the mansion and magically spawning brand new furniture would create a sensation and shock value for the show, and besides, which of the celebrities would truly complain about the state of the mansion?

"My townhouse in Manhattan is more impressive."

Day four found the celebrities finally adjusting to their new home. No altercations had occurred, but glares and snarky comments ran rampant. It was only a matter of time before the first incident, the producers waited in baited anticipation.

Sabryna had taken the opportunity of the sunny afternoon to change into her Dior bikini. A handful of fabric that left little to the imagination, but an expensive handful of fabric none the less. She lifted one of her hands to adjust the orange straps of the teal thing, laying out on one of the chaise lounges. She pushed her oversized Burberry sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and settled to soak in the UV rays.

"Yeah, orange tans are tacky. Fortunately for me, my mother has some Fillipino background, so I sport a year round tan." Her answer is short and she hardly acknowledges the camera. It seems she's still irritated about the first "job".

The girl turned over on her stomach, untying the back of her bikini to avoid lines from tanning. The fabric still fit around her person and she wasn't exposed, obviously, she wasn't some trashy heiress. She was unconcerned that this area would likely be utilized, as the pool was only a few feet away, and frankly she dared anyone to interrupt this time she found to herself.

Of course, that threat didn't apply to her friends. Which, at the moment, included Daphne, Elias, and the adopted Mimi. After being snubbed by Ethan, she wasn't so sure he was worthy enough to be a follower of the Golden Trio, but.... that was Daphne's call.

Speaking of call.
Damnit, she really wanted her cell phone.


ooc;;
Guess what? 8D? Thread revived~! ^-~

[blaire]

Even as the bus came to a halt, Daphne remained peering innocently, mouth covered by a well-manicured hand, as poor Marc swore over his leg, his camera, and at Andre. Fox Lythell’s appearance only incensed him and he was quieted down by some of his frantic coworkers: disaster had struck them already, it seemed. As the man bandied over to Sabryna, however, the anxious look on Daphne’s face turned into one of sincere puzzlement; amusement and sympathy were the next to transform her face, then a bit of warning as though she knew the exact magnitude of the producers’ treachery. The doors opened, and Daphne reached over to steady Sabryna meekly as she screamed, the star merely brought a sympathetic smile onto her lips, brushed off Sabryna’s clothes where Fox had touched them, and promptly pulled a silk scarf from her handbag. She had slipped this around Sabryna’s neck like a bandana – obviously so she could cover her mouth and nose with it – and was tying it when Sabryna screamed and whipped her cell phone out, forcing Daphne to recoil a smidge with a sorry look.

Sheepishly trying to tug Sab’s cell phone from her hand, she succeeded as the raging young woman gave up and yanked out her hand sanitizer. Putting the cell phone into her own purse, Daphne pulled out a pair of leather gloves and offered them to Sabryna, as affectionate as she could be, and looked to Elias with a raised brow as Jo declared just how out-of-sorts they were.

“Little does she know,” Daphne mocked teasingly, her voice adopting a conspiratorial edge as she tried to face the camera with good humour. She had pulled a hair-stick from her bag and rolled it up into an oriental bun, wisps of bangs and layers escaping it and framing her face in a tousled but attractive manner. “that I’m wearing last season’s Givenchy!” With a spirited laugh she shook her head, sucking in a breath of fresh air as she listened to the cameraman. “Well, everyone knows I wear the pants in this relationship,” she joked again, failing to betray any sense of tension or unease. “If Elias thinks he’s getting away with the best mattress, I’m taking up my share of it and vetoing his rights in favour of Sab’s just for saying that.” With that minx-like little smile, she adjusted the leather of her gloves, pulled her bandana over her mouth, saluted faithfully, and skipped into the house, ready to spoil her heels and silently plot Lythell’s demise.


----*----


After three days of cleaning, hysterical outbursts from her co-stars, and eager competition with Elias – no way she was going to let him find more garbage than her! – Daphne had retrieved a key from beneath the skeletal remains of some sort of kitten. After much speculation of this pizza-box obscured discovery, they’d decided that the rats that had moved in while Lythell allowed the mansion to fester and decay had warred with the natural predators of the habitat. After a long and animated comparison between the cats and rats and Shakespearean classics of choice, it had become clear that Daphne was doing her best to distract herself from the atrocities discovered in the mansion. Although the intellectual content of her self-induced speech seemed to be lost on many of the other entertainers - a pity that she couldn't speak on that level without the others wanting to strangle her - it kept her spirits high and her mind whirring with plans, even if her outward topic ensured that her true conspiracies would remain undiscovered. Nevertheless, the picked-clean skeleton of the kitten she had found had been placed on one of the grime-slathered shelves, named Felix, and had become the grinning mascot of further wars waged with the mould, rats and insects that had found the mansion a decent place to live.

The stars had quickly realized that carefully-composed Daphne would not allow her cheer to be tarnished by anything.

“We cheated.” The admission was wistful and guilty, as though Daphne were ashamed of the spotless state of the mansion. “After day three, the other producers were so traumatized by Markson’s ‘mother bear’ rant about my inhaling mould spores that they relented – probably at the threat of further Worksafe inspections – to give us less hazardous conditions to live in.” She pouted. “It wasn’t that bad.”

That was Daphne for you. Not only had she taken up the challenge with the competitive joy that God had instilled in her at birth, but she was as optimistic and rose-eyed as the most delighted unfortunate to walk the face of the earth. Or she was very, very good at using that innocent pout of hers where she really wanted to gauge someone’s eyeballs out.

“… admittedly, Sab’s townhouse is absolutely dazzling.”

Truthfully, the décor was so mind-numbingly sterile and cliché that Daphne could not help but mourn the confiscation of Felix who, although unsanitary, had added character as a fixture of the house.

While adopting Mimi had taken more stomach than she had left after the three-day long challenge (Daphne had given her room to Sabryna and had spent long, long nights outside to compensate, often fooling about with whichever housemate wasn’t too afraid to associate with her – the cameraman’s prompt about Taylor had not yet been forgotten) Daphne had yielded to her best friend’s charity and had spent all of the fourth day trying to feel half as clean as she did when she’d come into the challenge. Unlike Sabryna, she had no penchant for tanning and instead was apprehensive about slipping over to the pool, blue eyes darting about suspiciously as though expecting Elias to pull a Tarzan and haul her protesting form into the water by force. She looked like her old self, the golden-brown of her hair put into a spring twist with the curls trailing down, blue eyes offset by her make-up. In a combination of fishnets and Chanel, she looked a star again in the dark silk crepe of her scarf and trademark ‘little black dress’, Her heels, black peep-toe and lacy, did not attract as much eye as the flounced white bolero she wore; pristine and professional, it seemed that she had not, as of yet, decided that practicality could win the war over her delight in dressing up.

“May I intrude, Your Majesty?” The tease was simple, delicate smile playing at Daphne’s lips as she slipped meekly over to Sabryna; it seemed she was mindful of the great rage the chaos of the last three days had inspired within her friend. Like a girl who has missed her sister, Daphne peered down at Spence hopefully, glancing around as if taking precautions not to draw any unwanted person along with her.

After all, both of them knew who the real Queen was supposed to be, gentle joking aside.

[Iumi]

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

She hadn’t ever thought of complaining to her agent about it, but after they had cleared barely half the house, Taylor felt the need to drop just a subtle hint about the unhealthy state of the house. Once Daphne’s agent had a ‘discussion’ with the producers, a cleaning crew had been dispatched to finish the job. It wasn’t much later before the windows and carpet had been replaced, there was new furniture as well as a freshly stocked kitchen.

“Y’know, I’m really kinda glad that all the producers listened to Daphne’s agent. I mean, we could’ve cleaned the place ourselves, but there was no way we could’ve stayed, no worked in those conditions. It was clearly in violation of any and all health codes in existence. But… the worst part was that poor kitten that Daphne found… I’m surprised we haven’t had any complaints from any animal activist groups…” Her hands are folded in her lap, and her eyes are locked on them with strands of bangs falling in front of her face.

The fourth day of being at the mansion was the laziest so far, with the celebrities doing as they pleased. Unlike Daphne and Sabryna, however, Taylor was opting to stay inside. The living room was quite large and spacious, with chairs and couches placed methodically around the room. A glass sliding door led to the patio and the pool, shielded from sunlight by and upstairs deck. A few large windows were hung on the walls, each with a curtain to close when or if needed. Now, however, the draperies were pulled away from the windows, allowing for light to recreate the silhouettes of the windows on the carpet.

Taylor lay across a couch; torso leaned against a decorative pillow. Her wavy blonde hair was pulled into a low, loose ponytail, with a few strands of loose bangs hanging around her face. In her hand was her iPod, with the cord from the ear buds snaking down to the electronic device. Taylor was flipping through the songs, trying to find something to listen to. She paused for a moment and then began looking again. With so many songs, shouldn’t it be easy to find something she wanted to hear? She finally chose some music, setting the iPod on her stomach.

Reaching over to the coffee table beside her, Taylor’s eyes and right hand passed over various magazines and newspapers. As soon as the house had been cleaned and the furniture replaced, they had sent things for the celebrities to read, anything from Seventeen and Teen Vogue, to Rolling Stone and other various titles. She grabbed the music magazine, and leafed through the pages, glancing at various articles and interviews, choosing not to read any particular feature. Glancing down at her iPod, she began to tap her socked foot to the beat. Before elong, she was humming, and then quietly singing the words to herself.

”Michelle, ma belle!
Sont les mots qui vont très bien ensemble,
Très bien ensemble…”

[Stace]

"Yeah, I guess you could say Sabryna's place is nice. It's not like I've been there too many times..." For some reason, Elias looked around a bit to say this. Almost like he was avoiding eye contact.

While Daphne may have missed Felix, Elias did not. Of course he didn't admit that -- that might involve admitting that he'd asked for the thing to be taken out of the house.

But the house was more or less rebuilt: good as new. Certainly it wasn't recognizable from what had been there before, not that you could make out a couch from the ceiling fan in that mess anyway. It was definitely horrible.

Anyway. There was a day to relax. Or at least it seemed that way. Judging from the way they sprung the first challenge on them, a new challenge could be thrown at them at absolutely any time the producers felt like. Which was likely to be when they were trying to sleep.

Elias was certainly ready for the relaxation time that he assumed he had coming to him. His readiness was complete by his apparel: a pair of blue swim trunks with generic designs in white down the sides. Elias wasn't as up on the fashion scene as far as swim trunks went. It's not like it mattered anyway; who could name a high-end male swimwear brand, really? Not Elias. Maybe one of the models on the show. But that was irrelevant.

"The girls. Right next to the water. Why would they do that knowing I'm in the immediate vicinity?" Elias winked at the camera with a playful smile.

Although his initial urge was to shout "COWABUNGA!" and tackle Daphne into the pool, he saw the jacket, the shoes -- the ensemble -- and decided to not ruin her outfit for the television right away. Instead, he decided to fake them out.

"HEY, DAPH!" The shout came from the doorway of the mansion, a good distance from the pool. Soon, Elias was running straight in Daphne's direction, appearing to actually have the intention of pulling her into the pool with him. He sidestepped her at the last moment and cannonball'd into the pool with a "WOO!" Of course, the large splash was intended for Sabryna. He didn't get to see where theater went until he emerged from the water. Still submerged he imagined Sabryna hopping up from her relaxed position and screaming an obscenity his direction. The thought pleased him.

He emerged and turned around, wiping his face, to look at Sabryna hopefully.

"Don't be mad, ladies. You know it's all for fun. Who could be mad at this anyway?" He attempted his cutest smile -- the one with dimples and his irresistibly adorable Asian eyes.

[TheElevatedEl]

"..... It was kitten." Zac Shuddered. "A tiny... little baby cat. Like... really?" He lifted up his hands in an attempt to accurately express his personal outrage. "That's.... that's ridiculous."


Zac was whistling cheerily. The house was clean. That horrible skeleton was gone- it had been outlandishly hard trying to pretend it didn't creep him out. The Golden Trio were no where in sight and the day was balmy and warm. He'd been meaning to try out the pool for a few days now- not to mention his dreads could use the chlorine.

So it was with an obvious bounce to his step that Zac threw a beach towel over his shoulder and made his way barefoot down to the pool. He wore simple trunks in classic black- he was pretty sure his mom had picked this particular bathing suit up from wal-mart.

He cut through the living room- Taylor was lying on the couch listening to her ipod. He thought he heard a few lines from "Michelle" but he didn't stop to chat. Taylor was one of the nicer celebrities here, but honestly Zac was looking forward to a few minutes of time to himself. He did however, offer her a smile and a nod in passing.

The sun felt good on his tanned skin. Zac lived in a coastal town- the beach and pools were a way of life and of course he was almost permanently tanned a healthy brown in addition to the casual muscle definition of a man used to water athletics and farm labor.

The singer had already opened the gate and shut it- still whistling- before he realized the pool was already occupied. He drew to an abrupt halt, song dying on his lips, and for a moment, did a miraculous impression of a deer in headlights. There was Daphne, looking stunning, but over dressed, like some beauty straight out of an old Hollywood film, and Elias, probably making an ass of himself, judging by the fresh water speckling the otherwise dry concrete around the pool. And Sabryna. In a bikini.
Wow.

Not a moment later, Zac plastered a smile on his face. He'd be damned if he refrained from swimming his laps just because Queen bee and her consorts were already here. And Daphne was -well, after the kitten, he had trouble calling her sweet- alright by him, but he wasn't stupid. He could see her little power plays already, even when they were disguised with Sabryna's and Elias's faces.

"Hope I'm not interrupting." He said cheerily, in his best, 'I'm so charming don't you just wanna jump me?' voice. He tossed the towel onto a near by chair, very careful to not be obvious about the fact that he was checking Sabryna Spence out. And who could blame him? I mean... damn.

With obvious finesse (that he maybe sort of intended to contrast what he guessed to be Elias's recent cannonball) Zac preformed a simple dive. The water was cool, pleasant, exactly what he had been expecting. Alone or not, this was nice.

And of course there were certain views not afforded had the pool been unoccupied....

[Spotty]

As bacteria-infested as the creature likely was, Sabryna didn't have much loud protest over Felix. In fact, it probably was the best way to keep a cat; at least there wasn't cat hair everywhere...

No, the only part worth mourning was that Fox Lythell managed to not be fired over the dead animal.

And she's an actress,

But she ain't got no need
She's got money from her parents
in a trust fund back east.---

Sabryna's green eyes met Daphne's blue and lighter ones as she moved herself into a sitting position at her best friend's tease. "Absolutely, my liege." She purred the words, lips twitching in amusement. "Daph, I--" she paused as she noticed Elias entering the area, eyebrow lifting slightly.

"Watch--" As she would warn her friend of her impending doom as Elias dove into the pool, the declaration turned into a loud shriek as a wave drenched her towel and her Dior.

"I just fail to understand why Elias has to be such a jackass all the time. And to continuously go out of his way to prove it. Damn his--" Sabryna clears her throat, brushing a lock of hair from her face, "Damn him." With a spark of irritation returning to her eyes, she glares at the camera, "And it was a wave of water, damnit!" Somehow, the producers don't seem particularly impressed by this account of the supposed "wave".

"Hilarious," Sabryna spat out as she adjusted and retied the strings of her top behind the back of her neck, glaring at the surface of the water where she expected Elias to make his reappearance. With only the fury comparable to the rage directed at the unfortunate producers who seized her cell phone, she continued to scowl. "Drown, won't you?" The actress flashed Elias Lee a smirk before settling back in her chaise.

Her attention immediately shifted to Zac when he made his appearance. She didn't bother to replace her scowl, instead watching him with a measure of disgust.

"What garbage dumpster did those awful swim trunks come out of?"

"Daphne, I'm grateful that no matter what situation is thrust at you, you manage to retain your manners." The remark was more of an insult for the boys in earshot than an actual compliment, but that was beside the point.

Crossing to the pool, she crouched down at the surface, submerging her hand, and testing the temperature of the water. It was freezing and she had no idea why anyone would willingly dive into the water. Flicking a scowl towards Elias and Zac, she brushed the water off on her thigh.

[blaire]

Admittedly, while Daphne could reason why Felix disturbed her housemates, she could not entirely experience the same thing herself. The kitten was dead. Sure, she loved cats as much as any other celebrity star (her mother, even, would take her to feed the strays when they were living together in that ramshackle apartment in Illinois), but Felix was dead – done. Whatever cruelties had happened to the starving creature, he’d been put out of his misery and made a meal out of. Perhaps it was something to do with the adorability factor. Dead kittens were a greater loss of ‘cute’ than dead rats, so the rats’ victory over the animal was clearly under appreciated.

…Okay, so maybe it was a little creepy that she’d put it on showcase, but she wasn’t going to be afraid of a dead thing. Sabryna had it in the right, perhaps, by looking at it so optimistically: there was bound to be something good about the dead critter. Perhaps the fact that it had been picked so cleanly that the stars hadn’t had to deal with a decaying carcass, too.

On the matter of Sabryna, she grinned wider at her best friend’s smile, perhaps relieved that Sab’s sour mood failed to extend to her. At ‘liege’, a light-hearted laugh was already in the model’s throat; whatever Daphne was about to hear was cut off, however. Puzzled, she watched Sab’s expression change and followed her line of sight – eyes widening in innocent surprise as Elias came running for her, as if she hadn’t guessed he would all along. His call to her made her withdraw slightly, squeaking in surprise when he came to close and side-stepping just as he did. With an alarmed expression she whirled to face him, backing away and watching him jump, and barely avoiding Sabryna’s fate. As the feigned alarm on her face died down, she took it in pains not to allow a helpless stream of laughter to escape her full lips – watching Sab shriek in fury and her Elias salute them with his most adorable smile.

“People seem to think we came into it together for the glamour,” Daphne reflected for the camera man, a faint smile on her lips. “Really, it’s just the opposite. Sab – Sab knows exactly what life’s like for me. Everything – the galas, the events, the concerts, the shoots, the films (definitely the films) … she understands it; it’s normal to her. Elias spent his whole life working for the same. We all get each other and what’s going on with the glamorous parts of our lives so it makes it easier for us to shut that down when we’re with each other, and then all we’ve got is an overwhelming sense of normal. It’s a ‘normal’ I didn’t even have in Illinois. We’re comfortable around each other, and it’s the greatest de-stressor at the end of the day.

“… and as much of a bastard Elias is to Sab, and as much as she loves screaming her heart out at him, they love each other. It makes you happy to watch when you’re close to them both! I’m sure Sab really didn’t mind all that much; I mean, who can stay mad at Elias? He’s so cute it hurts.” She laughs, dismissing the camera with a wave, seeming to feel silly. She reminisces often over her best friends; it’s the easiest thing for her to talk about. And, by her words, she trusts them completely.

It was Zac who relieved her of her struggle not to laugh; looking highly amused, she looked back at him with one of her million-watt smiles; the expression seemed to light up her face, making her eyes dazzling. “Zac!” she greeted, delighted with this new presence; it had certainly been made clear to the others that she was impressed with anyone who could get their balls together and approach the Golden Trio without a herd to protect them. “Good morning! It’s nice to see you without that layer of grime we’ve been mucking about in for the passed three days.” The teasing quip seemed to reflect her own elation that the bathrooms were pristine and hot showers had been afforded to all; it was nice to be clean and camera-ready again (although, as Zac had noticed, Daphne’s idea of ‘casual and camera-ready’ was a lot more polished than many other peoples’).

”I’m not sure why Sabryna and Zac hiss at each other so much,” she admitted, prompted again, her cheeks reddening as though she were apologetic for her best friend’s disdain and Zac’s eagerness to match it. “Maybe it’s… er… um… sexual tension or something?” After a moment of innocent silence, she giggled helplessly. “The tabloids like to blame everything on that. I actually don’t know. Sab’s been in a pretty bad mood, I mean – they’re completely blameless in this situation, if you ask me. It was really easy to get off on the wrong foot with people, and nobody did anything wrong!” Opinions, perhaps, that were not entirely honest.

… “He was not checking her out. No – I don’t think so. Really? Well… who could blame him? It’s Sab. She’s fucking gorgeous – I mean, forgive my language.” A sheepish look. “I’ve been borrowing my housemates’ vocabulary. Can I say that on this network?”

Highly entertained, she watched Zac’s neat dive with approval, she shook her head in amusement at Sabryna’s compliment, as though guessing that it wasn’t entirely for her. “And I love how the two of you never cease to charm me,” she offered in response, glancing towards Zac as though to say, ‘don’t you love my Sab? before looking back at Sabryna for her verdict on the pool; Daphne's own tenative approach seemed to lack any genuine apprehension. “How’s the water?” she asked curiously, then looked to her boyfriend with mischievous approval while Sab’s back was turned. Oh, she wouldn’t have minded being dragged in with them, but it was nice of her boyfriend to be so thoughtful.

Considering how, in all honesty, he really was a natural born jackass. <3

[TheElevatedEl]

Zac grinned, flipped onto his back and did a few strokes. "Perfect." He matched Daphne's cheery tone easily. "I'd show you if I didn't suspect that stunning outfit is worth three of my guitars."

"Flirting? No. No of course not. I mean. She's got Elias- what kind of a man would I be if I hit on a chick right in front of her boyfriend? I mean.... that's just rude." His mischievous- yet somehow charming- grin was at odds with his words. "But really. Daphne is beautiful, talented... but..." He grinned and stretched. "No chemistry." He shrugged. "And it's obvious she and Elias care about each other- even if I did have the hots for her I'd be an idiot to think I could screw with that. I make it a point to set my sights on single chicks."

"But you're wearing a suit, Sabryna! Why don't you try it out?"

He didn't think for a moment that Princess Pain-in-the-ass would set one of her dainty toes in this pool. But there was something so entertaining about teasing/testing her. She was prettier when she was yelling. Speaking of yelling....

For a long moment- during which time a far too sneaky smile settled onto his lips- he considered finishing the job Elias had started and tossing her in himself. But something told him if he got anywhere close enough to Sabryna to actually touch her, he might end up with some broken fingers. Or loose an eye. Or a testicle.

Actually, that last one was much more her style.

With a tiny grimace at the thought, Zac contented himself with offering a much smaller, much more playful splash. "This pool would benefit from a little bit of estrogen." He glanced at Elias, careful to mask the slight contempt he had for the actor. "Don't get me wrong, Elias. Your a great guy, but 'Sab' looks so much better in a bikini."

"What, with Sabryna? No! Of course not." He shifted. "Alright maybe a little. But can you blame me? Did you see that bikini?" He grinned lopsidedly. "After however many days we sent mucking around in that god awful mess can you blame a guy for trying to start some conversation?"

"No. No she's still a royal bitch." He flashed the same cheery smile he had given Daphne earlier. "Just a hot one."

[Iumi]

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on brah,
Lala how the life goes on!
Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on brah,
Lala how the life goes on!

“It’s just so nice to be able to finally relax.” Taylor sighs, a smile settling across her face. Now the camera man prompts her about a different subject, causing her eyebrow to slowly rise in a mix of confusion and disbelief. “Jealous?” There is an odd pause between the word and her response. “No. I don’t feel jealous of Daphne or Sabryna.” She summons all the calm and seriousness she can to answer the question.

Taylor glanced up from her magazine just in time to watch Zac head out the door in order to go to the pool. Hm. It was a nice day outside, and she knew she would be wanting to get out of the HaWo mansion sometime today. Closing the magazine, she set it on the table, carefully removing the earbuds before wrapping the cord around the iPod and placing it atop the magazine.

She went to the door, choosing to make a note of the scene before going out. Sabryna was close to the edge of the pool, Daphne nearby, and the guys in the water. She glanced down once before opening the sliding door and closing it behind her. It was slightly warmer than she had hoped, causing a slight smile to creep across her face.

“I don’t mean to seem like a downer, but I just need a balance of 'Social' and ‘Me’ time, y’know?”

Taylor crossed from the door to the edge of the pool, shielding her eyes from the sun that had just come into her sight. The country singer was dressed comfortably for the weather, but not as stylishly as Daphne. A short-sleeved white blouse was worn unbuttoned over a loose cami with a light green paisley print and light blue trim. Beneath that she wore her swimsuit, visible only around her neck. Her shorts reached only one-third of the distance between her hip and knee. By her standard they were slightly too small, but how they found their way into her bag, she wasn’t quite sure. Taylor’s hair was pulled back into a loose, messy ponytail, strands of bangs falling to the sides of her face.

She crept over to the pool, settling herself by the edge. Taylor wasn’t quite in the mood to go swimming yet, but she wasn’t opposed to just sticking her feet into the water. She slowly did so, wincing slightly when she first touched the water. It wasn’t as warm as she had expected, but she would quickly be able to get used to the temperature. Both feet were in the water now, almost to her knees, swishing lazily back and forth.

The more she thought about it, the more a feeling of slight paranoia arose. She could trust the guys not to pull her into the water… right?

“And if you want some fun… take Ob-la-di-bla-da!”